Sri Lanka is a lush, tropical island of golden beaches and brilliant blue waters famed for the diversity of its culture, the beauty of its landscapes, and its complex history.

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

Colombo

Legislative power is exercised by Parliament, elected by universal franchise on proportional representation. The president, also popularly elected, exercises executive power inclusive of defense. Sri Lanka enjoys a multiparty system and elects a new government every six years.

Sri Lanka’s flag depicts a lion in gold bearing a sword in its right paw on a red background with a yellow border. Four bo leaves are at the four corners pointing inwards. Two vertical bands of green and orange at the mast end represent the minority ethnic groups. It is an adaptation of the standard of the last King of Sri Lanka.

19 million

74 female, 64 male

91.8%

Sinhala and Tamil. English is widely spoken in Sri Lanka except in remote villages.

Sinhalese, 74 percent; Tamil, 18 percent; Muslim, 7 percent; Burgher (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese colonists) and others, 1 percent

Buddhism, 70 percent; Hinduism, 16 percent; Christianity, 7 percent; Islam, 7 percent

Lowlands—tropical, average temperature 27C
Central Hills—cooler, with temperatures dropping to 14C. The southwest monsoon brings rain to the western, southern, and central regions from May to July while the northeastern monsoon occurs in the north and east in December and January.

US$870

Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco.

Rice, sugar cane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconut; milk, eggs, hides, meat.

Rupee